Quadruple Murder Suspect in Court

Tallahassee, FL - A Tallahassee man accused of a quadruple murder is now set to stand trial later this year. The trial will begin in September-- nearly three years after the murder of a woman and her three children.

The road to a trial for Henry Segura has been a long one but today, the prosecution and defense agreed to start the trial on September 30th.

Segura is accused of brutally murdering Brandi Peters, her twin six year old daughters, and his own three year old son he fathered with Peters.

"Killing them was beyond my belief. I can't believe it. It's something that I can't even grasp. I can't even imagine that. It's a terrible thing." said Leroy Tyler, Brandi Peter's former co-worker back in September 2011.

Peters' friends were shocked in 2011 when Segura was arrested. It took 9 months for Degura to be indicted, at that time he was working in Minnesota where he was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals.

The family was murdered in November of 2010 but Segura wasn't arrested until he was indicted in September of 2011.

"Once all of the facts come out, I believe it's going to be clear that there was a reason it took almost a year for the state to indict Mr. Segura", defense attorney Chuck Hobbs said in an interview back in October 2011.

He has been charged with four counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.

The state and Segura's defense attorney agreed to a two week trial, again beginning September 30th and it is set to last until October 11th.

July 23, 2012

Segura is accused of killing Brandi Peters and her three children at their home on Saddle Creek Run in 2010. Segura was in court today, where his defense team was trying to suppress evidence.

The man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and her three children was in court today.

Henry Segura's defense team didn't walk away with exactly what it wanted.

Henry Segura was in Judge Dawn Caloca-Johnson's courtroom.His defense team was trying to suppress evidence in the case but that didn't happen today.

Once they got to that motion in the hearing, the judge said another judge will have to take over some motions in Segura's case because of certification.

Since the state is seeking the death penalty in this case, the presiding judge has to have been on the bench for six months and take a class.

Caloca-Johnson says she took the class but until she has been on the bench for six months, Judge Mark Walker will hear substantive motions which would include things like a motion to suppress evidence. So she wasn't able to do anything with that motion this afternoon.

Segura is accused of killing Brandi Peters and her three children at their home on Saddle Creek Run in 2010.

The next hearing in the case is set for September 11.

UPDATED 2.15.2012 by Julie Montanaro

A Tallahassee man accused of a quadruple murder wants to be moved from the Leon County Jail and is now asking the court to throw the prosecutor off the case.

A judge is slated to hear both those motions on February 27th.

Henry Segura is accused of the murders of his ex-girlfriend, their son and her two daughters.

Segura's attorney now wants him moved from the Leon County Jail.

He cites a recent sweep of Segura's jail cell in which Segura's journal was seized as evidence.

"I believe that it was a lawful search to collect it. I still believe that it was a lawful search to collect it. I think that's why we have judges to make those kinds of decisions," prosecutor Jack Campbell said in response to those concerns.

Defense attorney Chuck Hobbs contends the journal isn't contraband and officers had no right to take it.

Hobbs said he fears "Segura's constitutional right to remain silent is being infringed upon by correctional officers in the employ of Campbell's father." Campbell's father is Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell.

"It's completely unfounded," Jack Campbell said. "My father and I are father and son but he runs the jail and I prosecute cases. I don't tell him how to run the jail he doesn't tell me how to prosecute our cases."

Segura's attorney also claims his client was pepper sprayed for requesting toilet bowl cleaner and has been in solitary confinement 23 hours a day.

An LSCO spokesman the seriousness of Segura's charges and his behavior have landed him in what they call "disciplinary confinement" and confirms Segura was pepper sprayed February 1st.

"He was pepper sprayed for not complying with instructions and then verbal commands and then advancing toward a correctional officer. Plain and simple," said LCSO Spokesman James McQuaig.

A judge will hear both the motion to move Segura and the motion to remove the prosecutor at a hearing on February 27th.

UPDATED 2.14.2012 by Julie Montanaro

A Tallahassee man accused of a quadruple murder claims he is being treated unfairly at the Leon County Jail and wants to be transferred elsewhere while awaiting trial.

Henry Segura is accused of killing ex-girlfriend Brandi Peters, the couple's three year old son, and her twin six year old daughters. Their bodies were found in their Saddle Creek Run home back in November 2010.

Segura's attorney has asked the court to move him to another jail. Defense attorney Chuck Hobbs claims Segura is in isolation for 23 hours a day, was pepper sprayed by guards earlier this month and has encountered repeated delays when trying to meet his attorneys.

A Leon County Sheriff's Office spokesman confirms Segura is in disciplinary confinment and was pepper sprayed earlier this month for refusing officers' commands. He says Segura can meet with his attorneys anytime between 6am and 11:30pm.

Hobbs also pointed out that Segura is being held in a jail run by the prosecutor's father. Assistant state attorney Jack Campbell is the son of Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell.

Hobbs contends that there have been several sweeps of Segura's cell, including one in which Segura's journal was seized and turned over to prosecutors.

Hobbs contends the journal is not admissible as evidence. Prosecutor Jack Campbell argued in an email that inmates have no expectation of privacy while in jail. The judge may ultimately have to decide that.

Campbell says a police investigator alerted him to the journal and asked for the search. He says he authorized it. "We want to collect all the evidence we can to make the strongest case we can," Campbell said. He would not comment on what may or may not have been in the journal.

The judge will consider Segura's request to move to another jail at a hearing later this month.

UPDATED 10.13.11 by Julie Montanaro

A man accused of killing a Tallahassee woman and her three children could face the death penalty for it.

Henry Segura was brought back to Tallahassee to face charges yesterday and he was in court first thing this morning to answer to four counts of murder.

Henry Segura sat in jailhouse blues with his hands in his lap as the judge read the charges against him.

He's facing four counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Brandi Peters, her twin daughters Tamiyah and Taniyah and the couple's three year old son, Javonte Segura.

Segura's attorney entered not guilty pleas to all four.

"Once all of the facts come out, I believe it's going to be clear that there was a reason it took almost a year for the state to indict Mr. Segura," said defense attorney Chuck Hobbs. "There's some serious lapses in evidence here and we really believe he's not guilty of these charges."

Segura was brought back to Tallahassee to face charges Wednesday afternoon ... almost 11 months after the family was found dead in its Saddle Creek Run home.

Newly released court documents paint a harrowing picture of what happened inside.

Police reports say there were bullet holes in the bedroom, bathroom, hallway and living room.

One phone cord was ripped and another phone had been unplugged from the wall, forensic reports said.

Autopsy reports show Brandi Peters was shot eight times. Her hands were swollen and her nails torn. The medical examiner concluded her daughter Tamiyah had been shot in the head at close range. The two other children were drowned, the medical examiner said, and police reports say all three children were found dead in the bathtub.

The state will seek the ultimate penalty for it.

"The state's going to be seeking the death penalty in the case. We'll expect to be filing the paperwork associated with that in the next few days based on the totality of the case," prosecutor Jack Campbell said.

Segura will remain behind bars without bond until his trial. There's no date yet set for that.

UPDATE 10.13.11 - Noon - by Julie Montanaro

A man accused of killing a Tallahassee woman and her 3 children is now facing the possibility of the death penalty for it.

Henry Segura appeared via video link from the jail this morning. The judge ordered him to stay there without bond until his trial.

Henry Segura is accused of killing Brandi Peters and her 6 year old twins, and the couple's 3 year old son. Segura was captured in Minnesota and brought back to Tallahassee yesterday afternoon. This morning, Segura made his first court appearance in Tallahassee. His attorney entered a not-guilty plea to first degree murder and said after that they are holed in the evidence and he his convinced Segura will be cleared.

After the hearing, the prosecutor told me he intends to seek the death penalty against Segura and plans to file that paperwork in the next few days. Eyewitness News spoke with neighbors in Saddle Creek about the death penalty announcement. One woman told us, "I'm not God, but I'm cool with it." Another said, "if it fits, he should wear it."

Prosecutors announced today that they will seek the death penalty against Henry Segura.

Prosecutor Jack Campbell says he intends to file formal notice with the court in the next few days.

Defense attorney Chuck Hobbs was headed out to the jail to meet with Segura immediately after the first appearance. He says there's a reason it took nearly a year to make an arrest. He said there are serious lapses in the evidence.

UPDATE 10.13.11 9am

Henry Segura made his first appearance before a judge this morning at 8:30. He appeared via video link from the jail.

Henry Segura Jr., accused of killing a Tallahassee woman and her three children, entered a not guilty plea. The judge orders Henry Segura to be held without bond.

Segura is accused of killing Brandi Peters and her three children in their Saddle Creek home in November 2010.

UPDATED 10.12.11 7:15pm

A man accused of killing a Tallahassee woman and her three children is now back in the Capital City to face charges. And one of the children he's accused of killing was his own son.

We have exclusive video of Henry Segura's return.

U.S. Marshals went to pick him up in Jacksonville this morning and their convoy rolled in to the Leon County Jail at about 4:30 this afternoon.

Segura is accused of killing Brandi Peters, her twin 6 year old daughters, and the couple's three year old son back in November 2010. He was arrested in Minnesota last month.

This afternoon, Segura - who's wearing the khakis and white t-shirt - was escorted into the jail by a team of U.S. Marshals. Segura is facing four counts of first degree murder. He is slated to make his first court appearance in the morning.

UPDATED 10-12-11 5:00p.m.Henry Segura Jr. is now back in Tallahassee to face charges. Stay tuned to Eyewitness News and wctv.tv for more information on this developing story.

UPDATED 9.29.2011 by Julie Montanaro

The sheriff of Le Sueur County, Minnesota says Henry Segura, Jr. was picked up by federal marshals this morning.

Sheriff Thomas Doherty says Segura was released to marshals this morning at about 10:30 central time.

Segura had already waived extradition to Florida.

Segura is accused in the murders of his former girlfriend, Brandi Peters, their son, and her two daughters.

UPDATED 9.29.2011 by Julie Montanaro

More than 350 pages of court documents in the case were released Wednesday afternoon.

They indicate Brandi Peters told her mother and her sister about an argument she and Segura had over child support on November 19, 2010. That's just one day before the bodies of Peters and her three children were found in their Saddle Creek home.

The documents include synopses of dozens of law enforcement interviews, including an initial interview with Henry Segura on November 30, 2010.

Segura denied having anything to do with the murders. Segura told police that he had received a text message from Peters the Tuesday before the murders asking him if he was going to come over and visit their son, JaVante. Segura told police he hadn't seen them in months.

Segura told police he went to Peters's home the next day to visit and said the afternoon visit was cordial.

Segura says Peters sent him a text message on Friday too, but claims he did not respond.

Segura says he was home working on his Monte Carlo that day and was home all night too.

Segura told officers he found out about the murders Saturday afternoon when he called to make an appointment with his sons' hairdresser.

September 29, 2011 by Julie Montanaro

Court documents released Wednesday show Henry Segura showed up at an ex-girlfriend's home in Savannah, Georgia just days before the murders, asking for a gun.

The woman told police Segura was angry, that his face was "all balled up" and that something "was not right" with him. She said Segura would not say what was bothering him and she didn't push to find out. The woman told police when she refused to give Segura her gun, Segura said he needed a "street gun."

The woman told police she called in a tip to Crime Stoppers about it soon after the murders.

September 29, 2011 by Julie Montanaro

Court records released Wednesday show police investigated several tips that claimed Brandi Peters was the target of a hitman.

Police say some information they obtained indicated that Brandi Peters was going to marry an inmate at Tallahassee's FCI so he could gain his U.S. citizenship in exchange for a new Mercedes and $25,000. Tipsters told police that Peters backed out of the marriage and the inmate ordered her to be killed.

When police interviewed the man at FCI, he denied it and said he wasn't even aware Peters had changed her mind. He said Peters was supposed to go to Georgia on Thanksgiving to pick up her Mercedes.

Police also interviewed Peters' former boyfriend, Kenny Greene, who was also an inmate at FCI at the time. Documents show Greene told police he read about the murders in the newspaper. He told police he didn't know who had killed Peters. Greene told police he was JaVante's father, but no one on the street knew it. Greene told police he did owe people money, but no one would go so far as to kill a family over it.

Police also investigated tips that Peters was killed by two men for failing to pay for a large quantity of cocaine, but they found no evidence linking either of them to the murders. One of the men said he had talked about the murders on the street to make himself look tough, but was not involved and had never even met Brandi Peters.

Tallahassee, FL -- September 7, 2011 6:15 by Lanetra Bennett

A multiple murder indictment is unsealed now that a Tallahassee man has been arrested for killing his own son, the child's sisters, and their mother.

The court documents finally reveal how Brandi Peters and her children were murdered back in November 2010.

Indictment documents show that 27-year-old Brandi Peters and her six-year-old daughter Tamiyah were shot to death, and that Tamiyah's twin, Taniyah, and their three year old brother Javante Segura were drowned.

Javante's father, Henry Segura, was indicted for their murders last Thursday.

Peters and the children were found dead inside their home at 908 Saddle Creek Run on November 20, 2010.

Authorities found Segura in a small town in Minnesota and arrested him for the crime last Friday morning.

Tallahassee resident Keyva Vincent says, "That's really sad because you wouldn't expect a father to harm his own children. That's really, really heart-wrenching to hear. That was really sad and that really hit the community really, really hard."

Prosecutors have not confirmed a motive.

However, court records show that Segura was ordered to take a paternity test on July 22, 2010.

On September 11, 2010, less than two months before the murders, he was ordered to pay $744 a month, plus $74 in back pay.

His total back pay in child support was more than $20,000 at that time.

On September 14, 2010, an order was signed to take $818 from his paycheck every month.

On August 16, 2011, an order to stop support was signed because the mother and child were dead.

Tallahassee resident Schuwanna McGill says, "For the acts that he committed, I would say the death penalty."

Henry Segura is still in Minnesota waiting to be extradited to Tallahassee.

The details of this murder expose a low moment in human history. It was a heartless act beyond horrific.

Obviously, the trial will be a painful experience exposing the very worse of the human personality and character when it is disconnected from the stabilizing force of God Almighty.

My whole heart and all of our prayers are extended to the victims and their families that they will endure the public process that justice requires.

Whoever did this degenerative, inhumane and hideous deed deserves the full weight of punishment available under the law.

September 7, 2011 Noon by Julie Montanaro

Prosecutors are not commenting on a motive for the murders of Brandi Peters and her three children and will not say if a recent child support order was a factor.

Court records indicate that two months before the murders, Henry Segura, Jr was ordered to pay more than 800 dollars a month in child support for his 3 year old son JaVante.

Segura requested a paternity test in July 2010 and after that confirmed he was JaVante's father the Department of Revenue ordered Segura to pay both current child support and more than $20,000 in back child support.

September 7, 2011 11am by Julie Montanaro

An indictment filed in the deaths of Brandi Peters and her three children has now been unsealed.

The four count murder indictment against Henry Segura Jr. reveals that Peters and her daughter Tamiyah were shot to death and daughter Taniyah and son JaVante were drowned.

JaVante is Segura's son.

Segura was captured by U.S. Marshals Friday near Cleveland, Minnesota. He has not yet been brought back to Tallahassee to face charges.

UPDATE 9.2.2011 7pm by Julie Montanaro

Segura was living in a basement apartment of a house on Lake Jefferson near the town of Cleveland, Minnesota.

A Tallahassee man was arrested today and accused of killing his own son, as well as the little boy's mother and twin sisters.

The quadruple murder last November stunned Saddle Creek and remained unsolved ... until now.

"Excited! But, then when they flashed the picture of who did it, I was shocked!"

The picture was of 33-year-old Henry Segura.

Rickia Mathis says it's not just shocking that he's arrested for killing a woman and her three kids, but, that one of the kids was Segura's own son.

Mathis says, "This is unthinkable, unspeakable act to do something like this to innocent children, let alone their mother."

Segura's picture was also shocking to Mathis because she lives on the same street where the quadruple murder happened November 20, 2010; and she says Segura attended her church, where the congregation rallied around him.

Mathis says, "It's gut-wrenching to know you hugged--yeah, I'm going to call it what it is--you hugged a murderer. You prayed for a murderer."

27-year-old Brandi Peters, her twin daughters Tamiyah and Taniyah Peters, and her three-year-old son Javante--also Segura's son--were found dead in their home at 908 Saddle Creek Run in Tallahassee.

Segura was arrested early Friday (Sept. 2) morning in the small town of Cleveland, Minnesota nine months later.

Community activist Rev. Dr. Joseph Wright says, Chief Jones made some promises to us. But, because of the span of time, there was a lot of innuendos and questioning the integrity of the department. But, we never gave up. We thank God that this has now come to pass."

Segura's arrest comes on the day the twin girls would've turned seven.

"I'm glad it's over with. They can finally rest in peace. This neighborhood can have some peace and closure." Says, Mathis.

Tallahassee Police Chief Dennis Jones says his department dedicated more than 7,400 hours in investigative resources, and says they will continue to use all resources necessary to support this investigation through trial and prosecution.

Police still have not released the details of how the four were killed, saying the investigation is still ongoing.

Segura is in Minnesota awaiting extradition to Tallahassee.

Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor says, "There's no question that this is one of the most heinous acts ever committed in the history of Leon County. This situation was begging out for justice, begging for closure. There are people all over the community who are very excited and who are quite happy that the suspect has been apprehended.

[UPDATE] Le Sueur County, Minnesota -- September 2, 2011 2:45 PM

Le Sueur County Sheriff Tom Doherty reports that on Friday, September 2nd, 2011 at 6:20 am Officers from the Le Sueur County Sheriff Office, Tallahassee Florida Police Department, and the United States Marshal Service arrested Henry Junius Segura age 31, at his residence located at Lake Jefferson, in rural Elysian Township without incident.

Segura, who is previously resided in the Tallahassee, Florida area, has been living and working in the Le Sueur County area for approx. one month and he has been charged in Florida with 4 counts of Capital Murder, in which it is alleged that Segura murdered Brandi Peters and her three children.

Segura will be held in the Le Sueur County Jail pending an Extradition Hearing and will eventually be returned to Tallahassee, Florida to face the charges.

*** NOTE *** Timeline Release Attached Above

Tallahassee, FL -- Sept. 22, 2011 -- 11:40pm by Julie Montanaro

Henry Segura was indicted by a Leon County grand jury Thursday afternoon. Four first degree murder warrants were issued for his arrest just after 2pm.

U.S. Marshals say they arrested Segura at about 7:20 this morning in the tiny town of Cleveland, Minnesota. The city's web site shows a population there of about 700 people.

Neither marshals nor police would say how they tracked Segura to Minnesota or what he was doing there.

Soon after the murders, police questioned Segura but did not call him a suspect in the killings.

Court records show Segura has been arrested eight times since 1996, including an arrest for domestic battery and an arrest for battery on a pregnant victim.

[UPDATE] Tallahassee, FL -- September 2, 2011

Henry Segura Jr. has been indicted for the murders. He is Javante Segura's father. We will have more information on this story as it is made available.

Tallahassee, FL -- September 2, 2011

Chief Dennis Jones and the Tallahassee Police Department will be hosting a press conference this morning at 10:30 AM to make a statement regarding the investigation of the murders of the Peters family. The Peters family was found murdered in their home in November 2010.

The press conference will be held in the TPD Check-On room, on the first floor of the police department.

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